Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1010948
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y S U M M E R 2 0 1 8 35 swappable so the boom operator can see what they're adjusting when mounted." Well, that was already an option. Smarty pants engineers! I also like how the battery polarity is "idiot-proofed" to display a big-red plus sign to signify positive at that end of the battery compartment. Speaking of batteries; two fresh AA Energizer lithium batteries lasted about five hours with the battery warning flashing for the last 30-45 minutes of continuous operation. Not too bad considering it's providing phantom power to a Schoeps MiniCMIT. That'll get to about lunch if they don't call "grace." That's what I expected, given the demands of this kind of current draw. These transmitters feature a Bluetooth remote app for iOS and Android. You can view transmitter battery levels, enter or exit sleep mode, gain control, low-frequency cut, RF power level, frequency select, etc. I found Bluetooth to be a very wise choice for this type of control. No need for dweedle tones that must be close to the microphone of the individual transmitter, and no proprietary wireless protocols more than 2.4 GHz. The range is typical of any Bluetooth device pairing. It would be amazing if the Bluetooth range was in line with the range of the RF link, but that may not be possible at this point. But it's totally within range if the mixing cart is near the boom operator; otherwise, equipping the boom operator with the app may be all you need to get the job done. And speaking of range… RF RANGE All of these tests were done with just the standard-included SMA whip antennas at my office space walking reasonable distances away. When integrated into most cart systems, they will have either passive and powered antenna distribution, with one's favorite log periodic dipole array, omni dipoles, or helical antennas. Caleb Mose and Danny Maurer did some in-depth range tests with the A10 system. Danny's thoughts: "My primary investigation was all about range. We all know that Audio Limited has a reputation for excellent sound quality but how's the range? My overall satisfaction with the A10 system was high. I was surprised with how well the system held up, especially since it was only transmitting at a maximum of 50 mW. It is my 'non-engineer' understanding that, although the output may be lower than some other transmitters, since it is transmitting all digital information, it takes less energy to get a signal just as far as a non-digital transmitter. Shall we say, more bang for your 'buck' (or 'milliwatt')? "What we were primarily investigating is how the range compares with a Lectrosonics SMQV to an SRc with whips and with a directional antenna (for this test, we used an RF Venue Diversity Fin). We wanted to be as scientific as we could; controlling variables and keeping things consistent all while trying to stress test the system as best as we could. The environment we were testing everything in was less than ideal, mainly in a non-line-of-sight situation. We had the receiver Path taken during Caleb Mose and Danny Maurer's stress test